Just A Few Errands

Wednesday is no longer hump day when one is retired.  It is just another day in one's life.  And you know what?  That's good.  Another day to live life.  How to live life when one has no commitments takes a lot of creativity.  Or just waiting for the phone to ring.

So what did our Wednesday look like?  We knew there was a basketball game at 5:30.  Was there something else we needed to accomplish?  Yesterday an email reminded me my charm bracelet was ready at James Avery's.  And DIL has a little project to make the laundry room more convenient.  To see if something else was on the calendar using the Google Home Mini Hubby gave me for Christmas I said, "Hey Google, what is on my calendar for today."  "I cannot answer that question without your permission....."  the machine answered and followed with instructions on how to give her access.

Now to appreciate our quandary, our e n t i r e Tuesday afternoon had been spent trying to get both Hubby and my google calendars to be accessed by the Mini.  Not only had that been unsuccessful, now the machine was not accessing either calendar.  That sent Hubby down the calendar/Home Mini hole again.  And we still did not know what was on the calendar.  I cranked up my laptop and got the answer - nothing else.  Good, I chose stay in my pjs and catch up on reading blogs, devotionals, reviewing emails, and do some online shopping.

Finally the need to move for a 'wee' bit helped me out of my chair.  I noticed the electronic candles needed to have the batteries that had been charging put in place.  Oh, yes. Yesterday I had pulled the big one completely apart when attempting to remove the batteries.  Hubby had said he would put it back together ... yesterday.  But yesterday he was trying to get both goggle accounts connected to Mini.  So the candle still needed to be put together and hot glued to make it stay put together.  That brought Hubby out of his chair and into action.

The mind then thought, "Hey, while he has the glue gun out and heated, let me add some glue on the hangers so the clothing does not slip off the hanger."  As long as we have the supplies out of the glue gun box, let me organize it so the glue sticks are not all over the place.  Those three tasks accomplished I decided it really was time to get dressed for the day.  Well, it was 2:15 PM.  By the time I was dressed and had (finally) put the batteries in the candles Hubby's phone rang.  Middle/ 13 yr. old grandson was needing Bush's chicken, sweet tea and some rolls brought to the school.  Needed the food for nourishment before the 5:30 PM game.  (This is one of Ninjapa's favorite things to do is get food for the grandkids.  He told me it warms his heart when they call and ask for him to do something.)

With that we were off to get the following accomplished:

• purchase chicken 
• take to grandson
• get the measurements in laundry room
• pick up the bracelet
• go to basketball game

We left the apartment at around 3:15 PM.  By 5:15 all of the list was going great.  Everything accomplished.  We were in route and on track to make it to the game on time.  Hubby asks how much money I had on me.  Zero.  Not a penny. (Mind is now trying to remember when and on what I spent my money.)  Hubs has $3 after the chicken run.  We do not have enough money with us to do the one thing we had on the schedule to do today.   The money was on the dresser at home. . . back across town.  

The bank was closer so we headed to make a withdrawal.  It was rush hour and heavy traffic became a problem.  Pretty sure we will not make the start of the game.  Money withdrawn and we head back in the direction from which we just came.  Clock reads 5:58.  Mind thinks, "It is half time, I am certain.  I think G may still be unable to play due to the broken hand.  We are heading to a basketball game to watch our grandson sit on a bench."  He would not want to come to our house and watch us just sit in a chair.  Quick, text Son and see if G is playing.  Message sent.  ping  : NO.  Fine, we are still 12 minutes from the gym + find the gym entrance + walk and pay = we will miss 3/4 of the one thing we had on the calendar for the day.  Text to Son:  forgot $ will be too late to watch the game.  heading home.

I think this was all the fault of Home Mini.  She needed just to tell us what was on our calendar so we did not get all distracted.

Enjoy tomorrow.  I'm not sure what is going on here even the rest of today, forget tomorrow.

Janice

BTW the additional trip to the bank to get the $$ we ended up not using added almost 30 minutes and around 18 miles to the trip to nowhere.....

Today's Excitement

The ringing phone woke me at 8 AM today.  I had not crawled into bed until after 3 AM.  I did not make it to the phone but a single touch and the number was called.  It was Richard, the technician.  With Dell to install the new part.  OK.  Richard was waiting for Fed Ex to open to pick up the new wifi card for my laptop.  He said he would arrive at our place around 9:15 to 9:30.  I had just enough time to do the required stretches for my leg problems.

The phone range again at 8:45.  Fed Ex opened early to let him get the package.  I was still in pjs.  Hubby had dressed and started coffee while I did my stretches.  Richard was guided by me to the best place to meet Hubby.  The leasing office is easiest for folks to find so that is where he decided to park.  The office is on the opposite side of the apartment complex.  Only about half a city block away from us.  Hubby headed to meet Richard and I jumped in for a really quick shower. 

Smokey during basic training time of life.

My hubby is not normally known as being very speedy.  Our son has chosen the sloth for his dad's animal spirit.  Hubby's army buddy nicknamed him Smokey.  The buddy had watched Hubby walk to the mess hall.  The buddy asked Hubby if he had ever seen the smoke rising from a fresh cow pie on a cold morning.  Yep, lots of times.  "Well, you move slower than smoke off a pile of cow s**t on a cold morning."  Thus Smokey came into being. 

I heard Hubby and Richard arrive as I was just hanging the towel on the rack.  (I did already have my clothing in the bathroom so this was not an issue.)  Sure glad Hubby was ready for an early morning walk.  And boy that was quick.  Did he jog?  There is a bit more information about the walk.  The wind was 20 MPH (32.2 kph) and the temperature was 25 F (-4.4 C).  That made for not only an early morning walk but a very brisk and quick early morning walk. 

I guess the frozen drizzle and sleet did not slow Old Smokey down a bit this morning.  And that was my excitement for the day. 
Hope all my Missouri friends are staying warm this week.   We will be back in the 70's by the weekend.

Janice

The Lost Coin

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?  .... Luke 8, ESV, Biblehub.com

If you read yesterday's post, you know I had lost my wedding ring set.  I was very sad at the loss.  But the above scripture kept running through my mind.  No, I do not have 10 wedding sets, only the one and the one band other that is for my 'fat' times.  So I started looking again.  This time I had decided to use the broom and start digging under the washer, dryer and small chest type freezer.  I went into the tiny room, closed to door to get to the broom.  Looked down to the corner and there it was.  I did not even have my glasses on and I could see it.  I could hardly believe my eyes.  No need for a broom, just reach down and pick it up and back on my finger for a few precious minutes.  

Hubby was not in the apartment.  He had gone to the apartment complex common area to practice his Morse code.  I took the ring and laid it in the middle of the seat of his recliner.  I knew that he would see it there.  When he returned an hour or so later I did not say a word about the discovery.  He puttered around the apartment putting away some things, getting a fresh cup of java and finally headed to the chair.  He said his first thought was, 'surely I have not been sitting on this since Saturday.'  

He came to me and said, "How many more times will we be lucky".  You see not only had I lost it off my finger into the luggage in 2010, the stone almost fell out a few years before that.  I was messing with my ring and realized the stone could move around in the setting.  A trip to the jeweler was made where a new 5 prong setting replaced the old 4 prong setting.  The rings, which had been separate, were soldered together.  

With the cold weather withering my fingers and a slight loss of weight the ring is now too loose to safely wear.  In addition the ring thickness has reduced over the course of 50+ years.  It is no where near being worn through but something will need to be done to assure no more close calls.  Cause some things are just too precious to not be lost.

So sweep your corners, under everything and walk a recent path to find your lost coin.  May you be as fortunate as we have been.  For what was lost is now found and we rejoiced!

Thanks for the visit,

Janice

The Set

Spring, 1967, thin

Over fifty one years ago the Hubby and I went out looking for a wedding set.  The simple solitaire and plain band were our choice.  Without my presence he placed the set on lay away.  As for me, just to wait to find out when he would choose to pop the question for real.  He did propose on December 31, 1966.  Just 4 months after we had met.  He placed the ring on my finger.  I took the single ring off the night we were married and turned the set with the wedding ring closest to my heart.  I did not take the rings off until the day our son was born.  Hospital rules.

The marriage vows we took were the normal about staying together for better or worse,  richer or poorer, in sickness and health till death do we part.  We are still together.  We have experienced all three of the 'of's and in's' over the 50 years.  I might add through thick and thin.  We have been thin and times and thick and even thicker at other times.  Once Hubby purchased me a new single band because my hands were too fat to wear the set.  Hubby had to have his band resized.

Slightly thicker, 1970

Then we lost weight.  The set went back on my hand.  Hubby put his ring in the jewelry box cause it was too big.   Then we gained weight, lost, gained, lost, gained.  I think we have each lost and gained about a ton of fat.  At least.

Thinner, 1975

Thicker in 1976.

thinner, 1985

Thicker, 1995

2007, thicker but less than in 2006

Too thick for any of my clothes, 2010.

Me and a cow, 2016

Dipping in the Mediterranean Sea,
2017, real thick

As a result of the two weight management programs we are evaluating for our DiL we are now moving toward a less thick time.  We both have been discussing the need to get rings resized.  On Saturday the weather was cold enough my fingers were even smaller.  For some reason my ring finger joint has never gotten bigger like the other fingers.  I noticed the ring set was lose when I put on my gloves.  I had to push the set back up.

I went to a political campaign prep meeting.  I was there about two hours.  The weather had warmed enough that I did not feel the need for gloves.  I walked to my car, drove home and took the longer walk back to the apartment getting in those steps.  Later I prepared a simple meal.  As I was cleaning up I realized my ring set was missing.  I looker everywhere including the trash.  In the washer and dryer where I had been doing laundry.  I just knew I had lose it in the house.  After all, once before I had the ring slip off into a suitcase I was packing and did not notice it missing till we were half way to Texas.  But no luck this time.

This morning I walked my path here at the apartment twice searching the ground and sidewalk in vain.  Still no luck.  The biting wind kept me in the apartment this afternoon.  Tomorrow I will walk the path one more time and the street where the meeting was held.  Because after 51 years of the ring and then the set being on that finger, I feel naked without them.  And if not found, I do not want an attempt at a replacement.  Cause no other set will be that beautiful, simple and given with such love.

Wishing you all a great week,
Janice

************  UPDATE  **********  UPDATE  ***********  UPDATE  ***************
FOUND HIDING IN THE CORNER OF OUR UTILITY ROOM FLOOR BEHIND A DOOR.  Now safe in a ring holder awaiting resizing!!!

All Good

All good is a phrase we hear often from our son.  It is usually when we have had the tie or location wrong for a game or other event.  Earlier the week the 'all good' was a text answer.  For some reason my cell phone does not always notify me of a text message.  Or maybe I have on headphones living in my own virtual world and do not hear the text notification sound.  Anyway I missed a text string in regard a time for discussion on a lakehouse.

Our son's family enjoys water sports.  Boating, skiing, boarding, etc. one could say gets their collective motors running.  Hubby and I can enjoy boating.  Any thoughts of the other activities leave us sitting in chairs on the shore looking at the lake.  Well, Hubby will drive the boat for the activities and I can be the lookout for spills.  We have done those duties on and off over the years.

In our younger days we would rent various boats and water toys for our son and his friends to use.  Hubs drove and I was lookout.  I do not think either of us did much more than just jump in for a cooling swim.  Our next door neighbors' family were close friends.  They had a house their father had build on Table Rock Lake.  We usually spent a a couple of weekends with them on the lake each year.  Boating, hot tub, good food but more than that.  Time spent with precious friends.  Friends that were with us through good and bad times. 

We moved away from the small town and those neighbors in 1993.  We kept in touch and would visit over the years.  But I do not remember returning to the lake house after that.  Lives changed.  The brother lived in the lake house for a few years.  Irregardless, our family has some wonderful memories of the times we did spend with the extended Ellis family.  In the house that Don built.  On the lake watching Craig barefoot water ski.  Playing cards, eating turkey fries, telling stories and laughing together.

Pretty sure all good surely describes thoughts of any lake house for our little family.

Hope all have a safe weekend. 

Janice

Today's look

At the request of a couple of blogger friends, here is a photo of the refreshed hair after the much needed hair cut.

So that is how it is here in Central Texas this morning.  We are on our way to have one last gift opening with our grandsons.  They have been with their mother's side of the family since before Christmas.  They will have all sorts of skiing stories to tell.  Looking forward to time with the family.  Ya'll all have a good afternoon.

In peace,
Janice

Haircut

Human, I felt like a human again instead of a limp wash rag.  So glad that is behind me now.  Yesterday my step count was 5600 + and I was still good to go today.  Of course I am suppose to do cross training the other day.  Today's cross training amounted to running errands. 

I really had not planned on going any where but I found a prescription from the dentist.  Better fill it before it expires.  The script is for antibiotics we have to keep on hand to use before dental appointments.  (Cause a knee replacement can become infected from dental work.  Really.)  Makeup stuff, allergy tablets and a couple of other things were needing to be purchased.  Somehow over the holidays all my makeup went kaput.  So that meant I had not eyebrows, no powder, no mascara.  With the shaggy hair, no color and old lady wrinkles I looked like the walking dead for most of the celebrations. Script and makeup could come from the Walgreens just up the street.  With a plan I headed out.  I dropped off the script and headed to look for a hair cut.

Previously the lady I had found that did such a great haircut moved back to Michigan.  I had not had a haircut since mid October.  Out of control shaggy dog hair was getting on my nerves.  All the cool/cold, dry weather had my hair literally standing on end this week.  I had to spray to get it to not stick straight from the top of my head.  Otherwise, I looked like this:

Only with a whole lote more wrinkles and no color in my hair.

In the same strip mall as Walgreens is a Courtyard Salons.  Inside the building are a small shops of all sorts.  Hair, nail and other things.  I walked up to three different salons.  The first two did not look up.  The last third one looked up with a smile.  I asked if she had any openings.  She said she had time to do a trim and style if I could wait till she finished her current customer.  I have all the time in the world so I took a seat and did some people watching.  I do love our multicultural area of the world.  Anyway about an hour later I walked out feeling like I have found a permanent hairdresser.  Now I can keep this mop in control.

As I was walking to the car I received a text saying the script was filled so back to Walgreens.  Makeup, allergy tabs, ibuprofen, script.  Check, check, check, check.  Grabbed a take out meal on the way home and settled in to watch the ice skating competitions.   At 4500+ steps by the end of today this has not been a dish rag day at all!

January 4, 2018, Good Afternoon

The last several days have been spent supervising a granddog, grandcat and 17 year old independent, sweet girl.  Son and DIL contacted us late last night to say their flight had been cancelled.  They would not get home till Thursday some time!  Okay, no problem.  Only we had already washed the bedding and towels.  We did not want to get our old people cooties on the bedding so we just slept on the family room sofas.  They were already covered with our cooties as we had been sitting on them for 3 4 days.  And now it is 5 days.

Hubby did go to our apartment to get a shower as he was out of clothing.  He had miscounted.  Cause 4 is such a high number instead of 3.  Gotta love that man!  While he was out he picked up bacon, eggs and Round Rock Donuts for the 3 girls.  Yes, that is 3 girls as Bonus granddaughter had 2 friends over for a sleep over.  Hubby did not do the sleepovers as a kid so he is always a little anxious about these things.

Proper Pajama Party attire modeled by Annette and friends, 1964.

The three girls had arrived last night/wee hours of the morning in a flurry of giggles.  Surprisingly the giggles lasted only a short time.  Guess they were all played out and fell asleep quickly.  Three teen girls in one regular size bed.  I, again, am drawn back in memories of sleepovers with my teen girl friends.  Carolyn, Reba Jane, Linda and Dona Jo.  Add in Lynne and Judy sometimes.  We would giggle together in the twin beds they had in their rooms or my full sized bed.  Parents never said quieten down or anything like that.


One night I had a sleepover of probably 5 girlfriends.  We were all in our short PJs that were popular in the mid 1960's.  We/I decided we needed to sneak out and go for a joy ride in our PJs.  I put the car in neutral and we pushed it out of the garage and down the street.  Then I started the engine and off we went on a joy ride.  I do not remember how we got it back up the driveway and into the garage.  Probably coasted it in place.  Giggles filled the car that night.  Much like the giggles that has spilled into this home last night and this morning.  Fifty five years later and some things have not changed at all. 

It truly is a good afternoon this January 4, 2018.

Peace to all,
Janice

Homeless

Today as I was reading praying through the church's prayer list one situation triggered a memory.  On the list is a couple who have lost their home.  The circumstances are not defined as to why but they are living in their car.  The folks are on a waiting list that is for 7 months.  This week the temperatures are hovering in the single digits F and - C.  I cannot imagine the discomfort they must be in during this time.  My prayer is that shelter has been provided for them.

Which brings me to the memory.  Seventy five or so years ago my parents home burned to the ground.  It was a house on a farm they were renting.  While I never lived in the house I am certain it was the typical wooden structure of the time.  No insulation other than maybe some wall paper to slow down the wind gusts that inevitably flowed through the lapboard cracks.  A coal oil/kerosene stove that was used for both heating and cooking would have been in the kitchen.

Momma would recount the story many times during her life.  She had her two daughters at home that day, a 3 year old and a 7 year old.  Mom walked into the kitchen in time to see the reservoir of the stove spill fuel and then flames across the floor curtains above the cook stove on fire.  The burners had flared up and set the curtains on fire.  The sisters had not noticed the fire till it was too late.  She turned, grabbing the youngest daughter and fled to a safe distance and sat my sister down near my oldest sister.  "Don't move" she said she shouted as she ran back into the flaming house.  She was only able to grab the drawer with all the important papers and maybe an arm full of clothing.  That was the extent of what was left except for the iron skillet that is now in my son's home.

It was 1943 when this happened.  The world was at war.  The world was still climbing out of a deep financial depression.  My folks were just poor dirt farmers.  Most of the people in the community were, likewise, dirt farmers.  What were my parents to do?  Everything was gone.  I speculate but knowing the situation there was probably no money to replace anything.  My grandparents homes did not have room for my folks long term.  That is when Jack and Florene stepped into the picture.

The Johnsons had 5 kids of their own.  The house they were renting was by 1940 standards very large with unused rooms upstairs.  They invited Momma, Daddy and my two sisters to live with them.  People in the community who were just dirt farmers, too, brought items for the folks.  It was close to Christmas so a few even brought spare ornaments for the tree.  People reaching into their own shallow possessions to share with my folks.  No greater love than this.  I was naked, hungry, without shelter and you provided.

Mom and Dad never forgot the generosity of the community.  I have seen them borrow money to help folks in need.  Generous to a fault.  But what an example for those who knew them.  Those Christmas ornaments adorned Mom's Christmas tree till well into the new century.  And the story of how they came into our family was retold each year.  I can only hope what little we are able to donate for the homeless can have such a lasting impact on someone's life.

In peace and love,
Janice

Correction:  After conferring with my older sisters that were present for the said house fire I had to change the actual circumstances.